A few years ago, I was your typical office-worker: stressed out, uneven energy, overweight, and inconsistent complexion. Now I'm just your typical 28-year old urban hunter-gatherer on a quest to be healthy, and having a few adventures along the way. See my full bio.
I got to see Paul Jaminet last night, and boy is this guy on a roll. First, if you don't read Paul Jaminet's blog, you should. Second, I highly recommend his book, The Perfect Health Diet. His latest brilliant series is called The Trouble With Pork: part 1, part 2, and part 3.
This is not a message that will go over well in the bacon-loving paleo world, but it is what it is. Pork consumption strongly correlates with cirrhosis of the liver (even more so than alcohol consumption), liver cancer, and MS. Even though most pork has a high omega-6 polyunsaturated fat profile, Jaminet doesn't believe that's the whole story.
Enter pathogens. Pigs have certain biological commonalities with humans, which make them a more dangerous vector for disease compared to other animals. For whatever reason, the types of viruses and bacteria that thrive in pigs also thrive in humans, and frequently jump from one to the other. And it's these pathogens, like Hepatitis E, that are contributing to liver disease and MS, argues Jaminet.
Jaminet's takeaway is to avoid pork products containing liver, intestine, and blood. Pork ribs or pork bellies may be a better choice. Just be sure to wash and cook them thoroughly. But read the whole thing.
And in our conversation last night, he ranked the healthiness of meats like so:
If multiple major world religions ban a specific food, then there's probably a practical health reason why.
Comments
No study on the possible
No study on the possible health effects of eating pork would be complete without data from China. The Chinese EAT pork. The Chinese also consume the innards with no hesitation. I would also like to point out that their farming methods and pollution are out of control. Yet we have the now famous "China Study" that draws positive conclusions about their diet.Nice blog, thanks for sharing it with everyone, but his theory is unconvincing.
would love to know why
would love to know why chicken is also ranked so low...
I don't know about the
I don't know about the science, but the religious angle seems pretty dubious when one considers the historical connections between Judaism and Islam. It would be like saying that must be something in the idea that dietary cholesterol is bad because American and Chinese doctors both agree.
Ned Kock already did a great
Ned Kock already did a great write up on this, thoroughly debunking the pork->cirrhosis correlations. www.healthcorrelator.com
Curious. I wonder how the
Curious. I wonder how the rankings would shift if you included how the animals were rasied, i.e. would pastured pork or wild boar be above factory farm ruminants?
I'm not sure how much weight
I'm not sure how much weight to give to religious dietary restrictions as clues for what's healthy. Shellfish, at the top of Jaminet's list, is banned by Judaism and I believe some divisions of Islam. Most Eastern religions are largely or entirely vegetarian.Avoiding liver and kidney, two organs that filter contaminants, seems like it would make sense, but paleos disagree on this, right? Where do you fall?
Many people (including
Many people (including myself) are allergic to shellfish. Even though it is incredibly delicious and highly nutritious, I assume that many religions would name it unclean or sinful due to the amount of people who died from eating it, since there were no other logical explanations besides the obvious that shrimp are cursed by God. Lol.
I happen to be allergic to
I happen to be allergic to shellfish as well, although mine only developed over the past few years. If shellfish are indeed one of the healthiest foods for humans, it seems unlikely that these are "naturally" occuring allergies, and more a factor of the modern world. If these allergies do occur in equal amounts in hunter-gatherer societies, then I would guess that there's a legitimate health reason for it. It's hard for me to see how shellfish could both cause lots of allergic reactions and be super-healthy, but stranger things have happened.
The information presented
The information presented seems very tenuous. There are significant differences in preparation methods and the Hep E link is apparently relying on the idea that all of these people are eating undercooked pork. I somehow doubt that. And religions? Really? We're going to base what we think is a good idea off what major world religions do? Fish and shellfish can potentially be very problematic healthwise as well. Particularly because of their sometimes high amounts of toxins. Some, especially freshwater fish, also carry significant parasites. And of course, then there's the prion diseases, that deer also carry Hep E, the various types of avian carried diseases, etc etc etc. That all being said, several studies have shown a difference in immune response between traditionally cured/marinated pork and raw pork. Thus, I now marinate all my pork in an acidic marinade or eat it as cured bacon.
Interesting. Thanks for
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
this is very interesting, i
this is very interesting, i always tended to avoid 'tubed meats' and limit my bacon consumption. however, the tenderloin, ribs & belly always were on my radar as a more quality cut. i'm thrilled to see lamb up there (i receive quarterly lamb for free c/o a farmer that lives behind my parents). i'm so thankful they have an abundance to share with family and friends! this weeks menu: lamb meatballs with cilantro, cayenne, cumin & nutmeg!